Most people think that the first Porsche model was the 356. If the person is a bit more knowledged, he or she would say it was in fact the 356 Gmünd. But no, they would be both technically wrong. Or kind of wrong.
Ferdinand Porsche created the Typ 64 in 1939, while he was still working on the KdF-Wagen (aka Volkswagen Beetle). The Typ 64 was a lighter sportscar version of the KdF-Wagen, built specifically for the Berlin-Rome race of 1939 and with VW parts.
Three cars were built, but because of World War II the race never happened and the car was almost never seen again. This is the only surviving example, and will be auctioned at Monterey in August. The price? It’s expected to fetch a cool $20 million. However, Porsche does NOT recognize it as the first Porsche, since the company was founded a decade later.